General

After months of painful negotiations, a nuclear deal

Russia and U.S to slash weapons arsenals

If the treaty is signed next month, as planned, we will soon see U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals cut down to their lowest levels in more than 50 years. After months of painful back-and-forth negotiations, the United States and Russia have come to an agreement: they will slash their strategic warhead stockpiles by more than a quarter, and their launchers by half. Already, the plan is being hailed by Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Center, as “the first truly post-cold-war nuclear arms treaty.” Richard Burt, who helped negotiate the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) between the two countries, calls it “a major step toward achieving [the] goal of global zero.” The treaty now needs to be ratified by both countries’  legislatures. Critics, however, have raised concern about a yet-to-be-settled issue: the antimissile shield that U.S. President Barack Obama wants to build in Europe, but that Moscow remains vehemently opposed to.

New York Times

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